Here's why T Natarajan sports 'JP Nattu' on his IPL 2020 jersey

Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Thangarasu Natarajan pleasantly surprised the cricket fraternity on Tuesday (September 29) in a match against Delhi Capitals with his pinpoint yorkers. Hyderabad was up against Capitals in the 11th match of the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League and was looking for a victory after two consecutive losses against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Batting first, the David Warner-led squad managed to put up a decent total of 162 on the board at the loss of four wickets in the 20-overs game owing to the half-century by opening batsman Jonny Bairstow. Kane Williamson and Warner also made notable contributions by adding 41 and 45 runs respectively in the total. Kagiso Rabada and Amit Mishra emerged as economical bowlers for Delhi as they took two wickets each while maintaining an economy of 5.2 and 8. 8 respectively.

In reply, Delhi could make only 147 runs at the loss of seven wickets and Hyderabad registered its first win in the ongoing edition of the T20 extravaganza. SRH bowlers scripted a victory for their team with their wicket-taking ability. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan took three wickets while Bhuvneshwar Kumar had two to his name. Khaleel Ahmed and T Natarajan also took one wicket each.

T Natarajan honours his mentor

Natarajan was widely praised for his tight bowling in the match to support his team. The pacer gave just 25 runs in four overs and took an important wicket of Marcus Stoinis in the 18th over after which DC were left with no proper batsman to see them through. The journey of Natarajan from playing with the tennis ball in a small village named Chinnappampatti in Salem district to taking the wicket of Virat Kohli in his first match of IPL 2020 is nothing less than inspiring.

During the match between SRH and DC, one thing that caught the attention of netizens was the name written on the jersey of the 29-year-old. Instead of his full name, Natarajan has written JP Nattu on his IPL jersey to honour his mentor Jayaprakash who saw him playing with the tennis ball and helped him in reaching where he is today

Explaining the meaning of JP Nattu, a Twitter user wrote, “‘JP Nattu’: ‘JP’ on his jersey is a show of gratitude to his mentor Jayaprakash who first spotted his talent in tennis ball cricket. #SRHvDC #natarajan #IPL @Natarajan_91”